The Girls Next Door: "Pleading the 55th - Part 1" Review

The finalists gather at the mansion, nakedness ensues.

The search for Playboy's 55th anniversary Playmate continued in the latest episode of The Girls Next Door. The search has sort of become a mini reality series inside the regular series. This week, the five finalists (well, five if you count the twins as one) arrived at the mansion for their test shoots and it would be left the Hef himself to narrow the choices down to three.

The episode did a nice job of dividing equal time among all the candidates. My personal favorite would be Crystal from Chicago. Though she did not seem to be the best at posing, she is still stunning. And her mother was Miss August in 1968! No matter how beautiful the rest of the girls may be, I think it's that link that will give her the edge in becoming the anniversary Playmate. And it's a good thing she's got that edge, because (surprise) her competition is tough.

Jessica is one of Holly's favorites, though, really, she had great things to say about all the candidates. Hope is another finalist that stood out. For me, though, they're both a little too plain. You know, "average gorgeous." Dasha, a playmate in the Ukraine edition of Playboy, might have the best chance of stealing the title from Crystal. She's already a professional, so her posing was fantastic. And, as the photographer so aptly put it, "Ukraine women are just built different." Something I wished we had seen more of in this episode was Dasha and her interrupter Sasha interacting with the other girls and enjoying their time in California. I mean, Dasha and Sasha? It already sounds like a fish out of water sitcom. I imagine it could be a combination of Green Acres and Perfect Strangers with a splash of Laverne and Shirley.

The new Algonquin Round Table.

Of course, the big thing in this episode was having twins Kristina and Karissa at the mansion, meeting Hef for the first time. If you don't know, these are the same twins that Hef has been canoodling with since Holly and Kendra have moved on to other, younger men. The episode did a good job of not making their appearance the focus. Yes, they did focus on their cold and awkward arrival, where Holly was being warm and friendly and the twins were being, well… cold and awkward. Of all the finalists, I found the twins to be the least interesting. They are the youngest of the group and it showed in their demeanor.

The episode itself was broken up nicely. We got the girls' arrivals and tour of the mansion-- skinny dipping in the grotto included-- and then we got to see snippets of each girl's test shoot. Hef, of course, found time to show up at all the shoots to check out the action. That man lives quite a life. Did you notice the hardcover collection of every issue from the fifty-five years of Playboy in his library? If they haven't already, they should duplicate that for the public and sell it like Encyclopedia Britannica.

Ultimately, Hef got to narrow the five finalists done to three. Why, exactly, they never really explained, but three sounds like a nice enough number. Surprisingly, the twins didn't make the cut. Instead, it was Dasha, Hope and Crystal. (Go, Crystal!) As for the twins, this episode actually has me excited for part two and the rest of the season. How do Karissa and Kristina become involved with Hef? How do Holly, Bridget and Kendra react? Can I actually be caring about what happens next on The Girls Next Door? You betcha.